By Card Luis Antonio Tagle*
MILAN – The Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) yesterday marked the 175th anniversary of its foundation at its mother house in Milan with a conference on the topic “The mission ad gentes of tomorrow”. We publish below the text of the address by Card Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation, who gave the introductory report of the event. The morning continued with the reflections of Maria Soave Buscemi, lay missionary in Brazil and a Bible scholar, and Raffaella Perin, Church historian.
One of the important aspects of our celebration is to look at the changes in the understanding and practices of the Church’s mission that have occurred over the last century. We are also called to discern emerging requests for renewal. The Church is not immune to tragic and rapid changes in the world.
The preferred term used in the Catholic Church when we talk about change is “renewal” (renovatio). It is not a change only on the quest of producing something that did not exist before, nor is it a change on a superficial or cosmetic level. Renewal comes from God’s initiative. To fulfil God’s plan and through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus generates a new humanity, a new Heaven, and a new Earth. The gift of life renewed in God is already present and at work in the world, but it awaits its fullness in active hope. The Church is the sign and instrument or sacrament of the new humanity in Jesus Christ who is our head. Although the Church is holy because Jesus is its Head and the Holy Spirit animates it, its members are sinners who have a constant need to purify, convert, and change.
There are many ways of seeing the renewal that ought to take place in the Church. One says that renewal happens if the Church reaffirms its immutable tradition and authority. A second believes that renewal will take place through efficient organisation. A third way wants the Church to be involved in the various cultures of the world to be considered as sources of renewal. A fourth way of seeing wants the Church to return to its primitive form, that of the New Testament. A fifth way calls for the development of the human potential of Church members. A sixth way places renewal in missionary commitment with the consequent changes in the human sphere.
All these ways of seeing contain elements of truth, strengths and weaknesses. I come from Asia, and our experience indicates that the sixth way seems the most appropriate: The Church is renewed in her identity when she is missionary, that is, when she bears witness to the Kingdom of God in dialogue with cultures, religions and the poor of the world. When she is a small flock among the great religions and religious traditions and in a young and poor people, the Church seeks the renewal that Jesus offers.
According to experts – William Burrows, Stephen Bevans, Jonathan Tan, Michael Amaladoss, Richard Schroeder, Antonio Pernia, Massimo Faggioli, Robert Aaron Wessman, Andrew Recepcion, to name a few – the Missio ad Gentes (to the peoples) is still vital, but it must be renewed as a Missio inter-gentes (with peoples, between peoples and around peoples). The “peoples” are no longer in distant places. They can be our family members, work colleagues, digital followers. Geography is no longer the first human frontier, culture, beliefs, indifference, injustice also are. These are the frontiers of the mission. Postcolonial mission theology is criticised and renewed by contextual, holistic, and indigenous approaches, as well as by the role of friendship and community in the mission.
I would like to add that these challenging and exciting prospects are not just about mission renewal. If it is true that the Church is missionary in her identity and in her calling, then the mission renews the Church and the Church renews the mission. Only a renewed Church can renew her mission. Only a renewed mission can renew the Church. The mission cannot be renewed by a Church that refuses to renew herself and vice versa. It is significant to me that the so-called foundation or origin of the Church in the mystery of the Trinity in Lumen Gentium 2-4 corresponds to the foundation or origin of the mission in Ad Gentes 2-4. The Church makes the mission, the mission makes the Church.
As an Asian I will use some images rather than concepts to illustrate a Church that faces the renewal willed by Jesus precisely in and by the mission.
The door of a house
The door unites the outside with the inside. But at the same time, it is the point of distinction between the outside and the inside. A renewed Church takes her door seriously. Through the door, the grace of Christian faith, worship and service spreads throughout the world. But through the door, the mystery of the Spirit’s presence in the world is brought into the Church, especially by the faithful. We tell the story of Jesus to the world with our narratives, while we listen to the stories of the world with the compassionate door of Jesus’s heart. The Church is at the same time a Church that goes out and a Church that welcomes. The Church that goes forth is the Church that welcomes at the door.
A woman who is employed by Caritas in Lebanon, working with illegally detained migrants, told me about an experience she had when she went to Syria for a conference. She took a taxi. Before arriving at her destination, she asked the taxi driver how much she had to pay. The driver replied: “I don’t take money from Caritas.” Surprised, she asked him how he had figured out who she was. The taxi driver replied: “Three years ago I was jailed in Lebanon as an illegal immigrant. One night I was sick but the guards refused to give me medicine. At that moment you walked by. I asked you for medicine and you gave it to me. That night I slept well. I’ve always thought of you like that.” For three years, the face of that Caritas woman remained etched in the man’s memory. The Church is changed or renewed when the Gospel and the cries of the world meet at her door.
Sitting at the table
Asians love to eat. It is not just a question of food, but it is coming together in a community, in a family. The table is complete when there is food and human stories that nourish friendship and solidarity. A renewed Church can be compared to a large table that has room for everyone. It is a table where the goods and resources of the Earth must be shared, especially with the poor. It is a table where people who have nothing to eat and have no one to eat with can sit with dignity. Around the table, the Church is changed and renewed by the spirit of mutual acceptance, participation, interdependence, and co-responsibility. Everyone has something to give and something to receive. The Church gathered around the table of sharing and solidarity challenges the indifference, greed and discrimination that destroy the human family and our common home, creation.
One day a friend and I, in his car, went to visit a place in the Metro-Manila area. Along the road the traffic light turned red and immediately the street vendors with flowers, biscuits, candies came out, slipping between the cars…. Our driver said we had nothing to buy. So they moved to the vehicles behind us. Suddenly one of them, who was selling cookies, came running back to our car while calling out to me: “Cardinal! Cardinal!” The driver and my friend respectfully said we had nothing to buy. But the seller kept calling me and showing me his cookies. I rolled down the window glass and waved goodbye to the man. Our driver politely repeated that we had nothing to buy. And he said, “I’m not selling them. I want to offer them to the cardinal as a gift.” This poor man who needed every single penny to live was willing to give up his profit to be able to offer the bishop his simple gift. A new Church materialised before my very eyes, showing me the power of people who are hurt, downtrodden, in offering the good news of communion and inclusion.
Songs of lament and joy
Music runs in the blood of some people, and I humbly say, of many Filipinos. Asians gather in bars with karaoke. Our conferences in Asia include singing and dancing. Music is one of the most effective ways to convey a message, to touch hearts, to lift spirits, to create communion. People remember songs more than lectures and homilies… Music, dance and the arts are inhabited by people. But there are situations that make us fall silent. According to Fabrice Hadjadj, we are speechless in the face of dehumanising suffering as well as pure goodness. After silence, the heart sings. Seeing the great suffering of people, we sing songs of lament to God, with tears and supplications. Seeing the kindness and love that people show to others, we sing songs of joy and praise. A missionary Church sings and dances for God to the rhythm of the lament and hope of the people.
Another story: At a summer camp for young people, I gave a 30-minute lecture on finding purpose in life and then invited them to ask questions. The first came from a young girl: “Bishop, would you sing for us?” I replied, “Ask sensible questions and then I’ll sing for you.” Many questions followed until a young boy asked: “Now will you sing for us?” I invited them to sing a folk song with me. Afterwards they came to ask for a blessing, to touch me, to ask for a photo, an autograph on their books and T-shirts. That event was a mystery to me: Had I behaved well as a bishop? A year later, the answer came. At such a summer camp, a young man approached me, saying, “Last year you signed my shirt. Since then I have not washed it again. Every night I fold it up and place it under my pillow. I haven’t seen my father for many years now. With that shirt under my pillow, I know I have a family in the Church and a father in you.” The eternal Gospel is proclaimed in the form of a song and a T-shirt signed by a bishop for a boy who is eager for a family and a father. This is an astounding but genuine face of a renewed Church.
Cultural and human intelligence
Today the Church is called to be synodal, a Church of mission, communion and participation, a Church whose members walk together with each other and with the rest of humanity. The adventure of making people walk together with a uniquely human freedom is an experience that requires humility. But people are unique and different from each other, not only in the way they understand and operate with freedom, but also in the culture that characterises them, which is second nature. We talk, behave, relate, eat, celebrate, and grieve according to our cultures. A Church renewed in the synodal spirit requires “cultural intelligence”. It starts with knowing how my culture has shaped and continues to influence the way I think, feel, speak, react and relate. A person with cultural intelligence also tries to understand how other people express their humanity within their own culture. Cultural intelligence is an example of humble walking with others, because every trace of cultural superiority and prejudice must be recognised and cleansed. It is also a humble journey because I must admit that I am inclined to judge people from cultures different from mine even when I do not know them.
Each culture embodies its own worldviews and the values of its people. While experienced sociologists and anthropologists provide us with qualified advice on how to understand cultures in order to live and walk together “interculturally”, in my humble opinion I suggest that pastoral leaders develop the ability to appreciate different cultures through simple observations, encounters or “walks”. For example, we can learn a lot about the culture of a people from its use and arrangement of space, its concept of time, its heroes, heroines, “idols”, its system of reward and punishment, the preparation and consumption of food… Walking together “interculturally” reduces fear of the other, allows cultures to cleanse and make the best of each other. Jesus was a person of his Jewish culture, but He also brought God’s “culture” into human cultures by redefining space – touching those suffering from leprosy (Mt 8:1-4), allowing a woman to bathe his feet with her tears (Luke 7:36-50) – time (the Father determines his hour, Jn 2:1-11), family (not only blood but obedience to God’s will, Mk 3:31-35), heroes and heroines (the Syro-Phoenician woman, Mt 15:21-28; the Good Samaritan, Lk 10:25-37; the repentant criminal, Lk 23:39-43; the centurion, Mt 27:54-54).
I conclude with another story from my experience in the United Arab Emirates where I participated in the anniversary of the Declaration on Human Fraternity co-signed by Pope Francis and Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayeb. On the last day of the conference, I had stomach problems. The organisers kindly offered to take me to a doctor. With a friendly smile and a warm voice, the doctor, who was not a Christian, told me: “Your Eminence, don’t worry, I will heal you. But first I have a request: the two nurses who work for me are Catholic and come from the Philippines. I am sure they will be very happy to see you and receive a blessing from you. Is it okay if I call them?” At that moment my stomach felt no pain, but joy, joy from my bowels. A new world of fraternity, respect and love was unfolding before my eyes. A non-Catholic is attentive to the spiritual needs of his Catholic co-workers. Then the two Philippine nurses entered, bowing their heads for a blessing. And they called other nurses, some Catholic, some Protestant Christians, some Buddhists, others, Hindus, who asked to pray. And a selfie!
There truly is a future for humanity. It is starting now. We are on hollow ground prepared by the Holy Spirit of the Risen Jesus. The Church is called to be a sign and instrument of communion with God and with humanity. In the renewed mission, a renewed Church is born. – Asia News
* pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation
